Hitherto, as a transparent electrically conductive film-attached substrate which is used for a liquid crystal display element, an element obtained by coating the surface of a glass substrate with tin-containing indium oxide (indium oxide doped with a small amount of tin; hereinafter referred to as "ITO") is used. The transparent electrode formed by pattering an ITO transparent electrically conductive film in a definite form is excellent in the transparency to visible light. However, because the transparent electrically conductive film has a large resistivity of an order of 10.sup.-4 .OMEGA.cm, there are problems that the surface area must be increased, and for realizing a high precision, lowering of cross talk, and a high-speed response of a display, the thickness of the transparent electrode must be increased.
However, if the thickness of the transparent electrically conductive film is increased, it becomes difficult to form an electrode having a high-precise form with a good yield, and also because a remarkable difference in level is formed in the inside of a liquid crystal display by the transparent electrode, there is a problem that an inferior orientation occurs at a surrounding portion of the different level in the orientation treatment of a liquid crystal by rubbing, etc.
To overcome the problem, a transparent electrode of a three-layer structure comprising a silver thin layer having a low resistivity as an electrically conductive layer, the silver layer being sandwiched with two ITO layers for improving the transparency is disclosed as a transparent electrode for a liquid crystal display in JP-A-63-187399 and JP-A-7-114841 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application").
However, the conventional transparent electrically conductive film comprising a laminate of a silver layer having an electrically conductive function and ITO layers having a protective function for the silver layer disclosed in JP-A-63-187399 described above has both a transparency (visible light transmittance) and low resistance characteristics, but has the problems that the ITO layer which is used as a refection preventing film giving the function of protecting the silver layer having a low water resistance from water and moisture has an insufficient adhesive property to the silver layer, and water penetrates into the laminate from poor adhesion portions, resulting in corrosion and deterioration of the silver layer.